The Death Of A Muslim Boxer: The Trouble With Christian Celebrity Worship

Some of you will hate to hear this, but the Truth must be told, even when it’s inconvenient to hear. In 1964, at age 22, in the prime of his boxing career, Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. turned his back on Jesus Christ to join the Nation of Islam. In his conversion to Islam, he changed his name to Muhammad Ali. He remained an adherent muslim until his death this week. He was vocally anti-Israel, and once referred to Jews and Christians as “devils”. Yet, I see many Christians speaking nothing but praise for him, some of them referring to him as “The Greatest”. Think about that. Would any of us Holy Bible-believing Christians call any other apostate “great”, let alone “the GREATEST”? The trouble that leads to this hypocritical double standard of judgment amongst Christians today is “Celebrity Worship”. If just any muslim or atheist boxer died, and fans of the athlete were speaking of him passing on to Heaven, most Christians would be thumping their Holy Bibles and professing that Jesus is the Only Way. Yet, because this boxer was Muhammad Ali, things are somehow different? Muhammad gets a pass because he was famous?

The Biblical Truth is, whether an unbeliever is a poor man in rags or a rich pauper, a satanist or the President of the United States, anyone who does not accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord will not “rest in peace” upon death. Without the Prince of Peace, no sin-stained human being can ever enter God’s Holy Heaven. Your earthly reputation and standing does not determine your standing in Eternity. No matter how “great” the world or Muhammad Ali himself thinks he was, or how talented of a boxer that he was, all of the world’s titles, acclaim and fortune cannot buy or earn him a place in Heaven.

Pride was the sin which caused Lucifer to fall from Grace, and it takes immense pride to call yourself the “Greatest of All-Time.” Muhammad Ali gave himself this title, and to this day many people, even Christians sadly, refer to him as such. One of Ali’s famous quotes was “It’s hard to be humble when you’re as great as I am.” God desires His children to be humble. Muhammad proclaimed he was “too great” for humility. The fact is, when you do not know the TRUE “Greatest of All-Time”, The Lord, our Saviour, God in the flesh, JESUS CHRIST, then you have no hope for Eternal Life. Sorry to say folks, no matter how popular or beloved that Muhammad Ali was in the “world”, that does not carry over into Heaven.

Lord Jesus taught that the greatest among us would be LAST, and the least among us would be FIRST in God’s Eternal Order of things. So, the homeless Bible-thumping Christian will be a champion in Heaven, while a famous “legendary” boxing champ will be a nobody. You may have your “name in lights” here on earth, but without Jesus, your name will not be written where it truly matters, in the Book of Life. I hope this sobering perspective makes you all focus on the importance of Eternal rewards, rather than on earthly riches and fame.

The Celebrity Worship epidemic in Christianity is harmful to the Faith. It’s not just about Muhammad Ali, but it seems as if Christians like to conveniently ignore the sins of pop “idols” because we are met with angry backlash from much of the “world” when we speak out. Yet, many Christians have no problem calling out the sins of the regular “everyday people” around them all day long. God forbid we speak out against a “celebrity”. Whether it’s Michael Jackson (who allegedly molested children), O.J. Simpson (who allegedly murdered his wife), Olympic Gold Medalist Bruce Jenner (who betrayed God’s Will for him and got a sex-change), or the many blasphemous musicians today like Jay Z, Kanye West, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Madonna or Beyonce… Christians don’t want to call out their sins because they are “talented” individuals. Wrong is wrong, and sin is sin, no matter what your name is, or how rich and popular you are.

This hypocrisy and pick and choose culture of modern Christianity needs to end. We need to see people as people, as saved or unsaved, as believers or unbelievers, without prejudice or exceptions. This week a muslim boxer, who turned his back on Jesus and pledged allegiance to Muhammad of Islam, died. Period. End of story. It doesn’t matter to me how many boxing matches he won, how many championships he held, or how popular he was. It wouldn’t matter to me if he ended world hunger. If he was an unbeliever in life, he is an unbeliever in death, and us Christians need to stop sugar-coating the Truth. We need to stop sending “prayerful” condolences as if it would alter the decisions he made on earth, and somehow change his destination for Eternity. We must stop heaping praise on an unbeliever. A talented boxer died this week, and we should leave it at that.

“BE NOT conformed to this WORLD: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may PROVE what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, WILL OF GOD.” ~ Romans 12:2

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” ~ Matthew 16:26/Mark 8:36/Luke 9:25

“Jesus said, He that is GREATEST among you shall be your SERVANT. And whosoever shall EXALT himself shall be ABASED; and he that shall HUMBLE himself shall be EXALTED.” ~ Matthew 23:11-12

“For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth IN HIM should not perish, but have Everlasting Life.” ~ John 3:16

“JESUS said, Whosoever shall DENY ME before men, him will I ALSO DENY before My FATHER Which is IN HEAVEN.” ~ Matthew 10:33

“.. If we DENY HIM, he also will DENY US.” ~ 2nd Timothy 2:12

“JESUS said, I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. NO MAN comes unto The Father (YaHWeH) in Heaven, except BY ME.” ~ John 14:6

“Then JESUS said unto him, Get BEHIND ME, Satan: for it is WRITTEN, You shall worship (YaHWeH) The Lord your God, and HIM ONLY shall you SERVE.” ~ Matthew 4:10/Luke 4:8

“I Am The LORD (YaHWeH) your GOD.. You shall have NO OTHER gods before ME.” ~ Exodus 20:2-3

“For he that serves BAAL (Biblical name for Allah), and worships HIM, shall provoke to ANGER YaHWeH (The LORD) God of Israel..” ~ 1st Kings 22:53

“They have gone and served OTHER gods, and worshipped THEM, either the sun (god), or MOON (god of ISLAM), or ANY of the host of heaven, which I have NOT COMMANDED, saith The LORD God.” ~ Deuteronomy 17:3

27 comments

This write up is the truth about God, man, this life, and eternity.
A good evangelism material, and a church revival lighter.
May this article be a tool to bring others who are still without Jesus into the kingdom of God.
And let the church be revived, knowing and speaking the truth with boldness in the power of the Holy Spirit.

This is the truth and the truth ONLY. Many do not have the courage to say this in a world that will not listen. Including myself, it is hard to put into words and hear the repercussions. But what is written is the truth and nothing else matters. To be a real Christian, a child of God we MUST believe what the bible says and the entire bible, not just pieces and parts of it.

Thank you, while I’ve never “worshiped” celebrities (I don’t watch tv, rarely go to to a movie although “War Room” was amazing!!
I didn’t realize he was a Muslim, (Never been a fan) but what I do know is No man is above Jesus Christ and EVERY knee shall bow and EVERY tongue confess Jesus Christ As Lord!! Revival is coming, but not in the church this time, This time Revival will come in “US” those who have seen the Glory, experienced the Glory have planted seeds as we’ve walked along the path beside HIM. By HIM I mean our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Those seeds will take root, and even the sinners will be searching for Jesus, Get Ready, Get Ready, Get Ready!!
Come Lord Jesus Come.

Cassius Clay did not just turn his back on Jesus Christ he also turned his back on the United States of America by refusing to go to Viet Nam. Some will say he was a conscientious objector. So how do you reconcile not fighting for your country, but will fight for money, glory and fame. I call it greed.
Since I was a little girl and heard Cassius Clay became a Muslim and now everyone must call him Muhammad Ali I only had one word for him. And then on the news yesterday reporting his death the same word came back to me. The word:

Jesus said “I am the way, truth and the life and no man comes to the Father but by Me! No matter who you are, rich or poor, ordinary or great, you can not enter into Heaven except through and by JESUS!!!

He liked to talk big in front of a camera or in a boxing ring but his actions speak louder then words. By his actions we know he was a coward behind closed doors. He gave up on God to believe a lie, Then changed his name as if Allah could really care and then there is his draft dodging. So much the coward he would not even fight with his fellow country men. He thought he was so much better then other people. Well now that he has passed on to death he will be in for a shock, Just like a lot of people will be, When the Lord Jesus Christ does come back and calls the people from there graves and Judges them, He will find out the truth about Allah and the Muslim religion the hard way and will pay for it forever and ever.

CASSIUS CLAY . . I ADMIRED HIS GIFT AS AN OLYMPIAN, AND A BOXER. THE CONTROVERSIAL LIFE THAT HE SO PUBLICLY LIVED, HIS REJECTION OF RESPONSIBILITY TO JESUS CHRIST, THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD; HIS REFUSAL TO SERVE IN THE MILITARY AND MORE CAUSE ME TO BELIEVE THAT HIS EARTHLY NOTORIETY AND HIS VOCALLY PRIDEFUL, POETIC OUTLOOK ON THE LIVES THAT OTHERS OF US WERE EXPECTED TO LIVE SHOWS ME THAT HIS EARTHLY EXISTENCE WILL BE THE ONLY HEAVEN HE WILL KNOW. GOD HAVE MERCY ON ANYONE WHO GETS SO CAUGHT UP IN THIS SATANIC CELEBRITY WORSHIP SYNDROME THAT IS SWEEPING OUR LAND. FORGIVE US GOD!!!

Celebrity world is driven by a generation totally confused and lost; science, technology, fame, money, sex, power and vainglory are the new gods on the block!
Those who worship celebrities/the famous hardly give consideration to how empty and troubled their individual lives are; drugs, lovelessness, diseased, depressed, possessed, etc they are.
It should not surprise anyone that this generation ignores our Lord Jesus Christ. Why? Because he gives us salvation free of charge! This generation only price high what is costly – designer clothing and costumes that hardly enhance their looks!!!
Today, many people are not happy with their Creator for not making them lighter in colour, more muscular or feminine, etc. Some even go through painful costly surgeries to change their gender.
I thank God for the Judeo-Christian Faith. We are lucky that believe.
The world is sick, seriously sick. Only Jesus can heal it.
As for Mohammed Alli, death is not the final arbiter, Jesus Christ is…

People get mad at the truth when it has to do with the sports games, but truth is the truth. And God will have the last word. although as he lived, the facts still remain the truth in death. Why is it people are so quick to forget the facts when someone dies? On a head stone marks the two dates of a person. 1st being the Birth 2nd the Death, The most important is the DASH in between them. How you lived your life, What you left behind & How others are going to remember you. Good or Bad the facts remain the same, dying does not erase any of it only God’s Blood can cover it.
But if you don’t repent for your DASH, well let’s just say “in the end you do get what you asked for. What a Man sows, he shall reap. Life is like a coin, you may spend it however you like but you can only spend it once. Spend it wisely.http://www.aol.com/…/piers-morgan-incites…/21389777/…

I hope his surviving family would read this truth and get saved before they meet their father in hell. I was castigated one day for referring to one artist as satanic in her approach to a particular musical event. Many of the people who called me names were Christians and you’d not believe how hard I fought back to hold my head above their drowning words. Some even unfriended me on Facebook because I was seemingly too fanatical and acted as though I was holier than Jesus. They still haven’t realized that God will hold us responsible for not calling evil by its true name. If someone were to perish today because I didnt tell them what I knew about salvation, I would not have peace. I’llrather be rejected because of the gospel than be decorated by cursed flatteries and friendships. May God have mercy on our world.

Thank you for this great article. I totally agree that celebrity worship offends God and needs to stop ( ex: Mohammed Ali). Something else I’ve been noticing is, it seems that Christians give high praise to celebrities who claim to be Christians on their Facebook pages (ex: Bono, Hugh Jackman, etc.,) But they are not Christians. Just because a person says they like Jesus and cherry picks some of the Bibles verses to live by doesn’t mean they know the Lord. Christians need to be very discerning, now more than ever. We are living in the days of the soon return of Christ and the Scriptures say that before Christ comes there will be the Apostate Church. This church claims to be Christian, even to be evangelical, but this church emphasizes good works and social justice over true Biblical doctrine. They are deceived. This new church is not of God. Stay close to the Lord and His Word and worship and praise only Him.
“Friendship with the world is emnity with God.”
God bless & keep us.